Beyond the Body and Mind: The Journey Within

In the rush of daily life, we rarely stop to ask ourselves the most essential questions: Who am I? Where have I come from? Where am I going? These aren’t just philosophical musings; they are gateways to a deeper, more meaningful existence.

The ancient Vedic texts, especially the Bhagavad-gita and the Srimad Bhagavatam, urge us to pause and reflect. They encourage us to peel back the layers of illusion and rediscover our true essence—not as body or mind, but as spirit soul, eternal and full of consciousness.

Most of us live as though the body is the self. We fear its end, cling to its pleasures, and invest our identity in its appearance and labels. But according to the timeless wisdom of the Vedas, our true self—the jiva, or atma—is untouched by birth or death, indivisible and unchanging. Realising this is the beginning of self-realisation and the foundation for lasting peace.

Srila Prabhupada, in Beyond Birth and Death, writes that the very first step in self-realisation is to understand one's identity as separate from the body. Simply saying “I am not this body” is not enough. One must actually realise it through deep introspection and spiritual practice (sadhana bhakti). Although we are not these bodies but are pure consciousness, somehow we have become encased in this bodily dress, dreaming that this temporary situation is all there is. This dreamlike state is called maya—illusion and the process of how to wake up fully and live in reality is called bhakti.

Bhakti is not about changing religions or adopting rituals for the sake of conformity. It is, at its heart, an inner journey. It takes us into the depths of spiritual realness and brings us into the constant presence of God, here and now. Through bhakti, we remember our eternal relationship with Krishna, the Supreme Person, and this remembrance begins to dissolve the false identities we’ve carried through lifetimes.

Chanting, prayer, studying scripture, serving others and keeping the company of devotees are all ways to revive that relationship. Gradually, as we cleanse the mirror of the heart, we begin to see ourselves as we truly are—eternal, conscious, and blissful.

In one sense we are never truly separated from God. Just as sparks from a fire are of the same nature as the flame, we too are of the same spiritual nature as Krishna. But in another sense, due to forgetfulness, we have fallen asleep to our real identity. We wander through this material world searching for lasting happiness in fleeting things. Bhakti is the means of waking from this numb dream and returning to the joy of our original nature.

As Srila Prabhupada reminds us, first of all we must understand that life is eternal. We don’t need to become something new. We only need to remember what we already are.